Christmas Eve 2025

Christmas is fun, and it’s especially fun to watch kids at this time of year. I did always wonder why parents would take their young children to Toys are Us during this time. But kids are fun.

Joke - A little boy was praying a few weeks before Christmas. He prayed, “Lord, if you will give me a new bicycle for Christmas, I promise to be good for the entire next year.” Then he thought about the commitment he’d made, and realized he couldn’t keep that commitment. So he prayed again, “Lord, if you will give me a new bicycle for Christmas, I’ll be good for the next month.” He thought about that commitment for a few moments, and realized that he wouldn’t be able to keep it.” He prayed for a 3rdtime, “Lord, if you will give me a new bicycle for Christmas, I will be good for the next week.” He told about that commitment that he had made, and realized that he wouldn’t be able to keep that one either. So he ran downstairs, ran to his neighbor’s yard, picked up her statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and ran back upstairs with the statue. He wrapped the statue of Mary in a blanket and shoved it underneath his bed.  Then he prayed for the 4th time, “Lord, if you ever want to see your mother again, you’ll bring me a new bicycle for Christmas.”

How many of you have a determined kid like that in your family?  You might have been the one!!! But havn’t we all negotiated with God. If you will do this, I’ll do that…

Speaking of Mary, I want to read you a part of the Christmas that begins with an Angel speaking to Mary, but really focuses on who Jesus is, and how He came to be the One that we celebrate at Christmas time.

Luke 1:26–38 NLT

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Mary was one of the most incredible women to ever live. But the child she gave birth to that Christmas Day is the most extraordinary and incredible person who has ever lived. Listen to what the Angel told Mary… Luke 1:32-33

Luke 1:32–33 NLT

32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Have you ever thought about that statement, “He will be very great,” or have you ever wondered, “What makes Jesus so great?” There are some questions that are hard to answer …

Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why do they lock gas station rest rooms? Do they think someoen will go in and clean them.

Why does a dog get mad when you blow in his face, but as soon as he gets into the car, he sticks his head out the window?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when the batteries get weak?

Why do we shout a Seri when it doesn’t understand us?

I don’t know the answers to all those questions and many more, but I do know why Jesus is called great by the Angel.

Jesus is great because he is the Son of God.

Luke 1:35 NLT

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Have you ever heard people say everyone is God’s child? That’s not true. All humans are creations of God, but so are rocks, snakes, trees, rats and every other kind of animal. Being human makes us a creation of God but doesn’t make us a chold of God. however,

We can all become children of God through Jesus Christ.

John 1:12 NLT

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

The Bible teaches that Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior have become God’s children, but there is only one holy Son of God.  (Repent / Invite / Allow)  It’s great to be a child of God, but Jesus is the Son of God.  John 3:16

John 3:16 NLT

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus is great because He is the only unique one-of-a-kind Son of God.

Jesus is great because He is the Savior of the World

The Angel who visited with Mary had also visited Joseph. He told Joseph that Mary was pregnant although she was still a virgin, and that the baby born to her would be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Then the Angel said,

Matthew 1:21 NLT

21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Have you ever thought about what the Angel meant when He said, “Jesus will save people from their sins?” Now we know that,

People often need to be “saved” from bad relationships, bad habits, danger, disasters, etc. – but our greatest need is “salvation” from the penalty and power of our sins.

“Why is that?”  Why do we need to be saved from our sins?  First of all we need to understand that we are all sinners by nature and by choice. We’ve all told lies at times in our lives. We’ve all hurt others with our words or actions. We’ve all rejected God’s will and way for our lives at times. Those actions, as well as many of our attitudes and ambitions, are all sins, and the Bible tells us that

Our sin separates us from God in this life and the next life.

Romans 6:23 NLT

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

That verse goes on to tell us, however, that while our sins earn us death and separation from God in this life and in the next, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In other words, when Jesus comes into our lives He pays the penalty for our sins.

When Jesus comes into our lives, He forgives our sins and begins to free us from the bondage of our sins.

Ephesians 1:7 NLT

7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

Everyone likes to take family pictures at Christmas time…  Back in the days before digital cameras, a photographer would take someone’s picture, develop some proofs, send those proofs to the person who wanted the pictures, and then produce the pictures once a person had selected the proof that they wanted.

After receiving some proofs from her photographer, one woman called up the photographer and said to him, “These proofs don’t do me justice.”  Before he could close his mouth, the following words popped out. “Lady, you don’t need justice. You need mercy.”

The truth is that because of our sins, we’ve all needed to be recipients of God’s grace and mercy. And we experience that grace and mercy when we make Jesus the Savior and Lord of our lives…  

And He is the only Savior for the entire world. Jesus said John 14:6

John 14:6 NLT

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

We celebrate Christmas today only because He is God’s Son, but also because He is the Savior of the World – through Him we receive forgiveness for our sins. Through Him we experience God’s grace and mercy in our lives.  And by the way…

When Jesus becomes our Savior, He also blesses us with abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven.

John 10:10 NLT

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Jesus is Great because he is the Son of God/the Savior of the World

Jesus is great because He is a problem solver.

Everyone has a problem, is a problem, or lives with a problem.

Ask yourself, “What are the great problems of my life?”

Your greatest problem may be your health or your finances.  Your greatest problem may be a child or a spouse, or a former spouse.  

There are at least 4 major problems that lots of people struggle with – broken hearts, broken lives, broken relationships and broken circumstances.  

Well, I’ve got good news for you to today.  Jesus is not only great because He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, but He is also the Solution to all of our problems.  Let me explain that to your quickly.

Jesus is able to heal broken hearts.

I doubt if you could find any row in this room that has people who haven’t experienced Broken Heartedness in their lives. Perhaps a loved one (a husband, a wife, a child or a parent) has been lost to death.  Perhaps a marriage or career has not worked out. Perhaps a childhas gone astray, & your dreams for that child have been shattered.  Perhaps an illness or disease or some type of physical defect has robbed someone you love of their joy and zest in life.   

There are all types of reasons as to why people experience broken hearts. “What can we say to people who come to us with ‘broken hearts’?”  When they come to us distressed about their families, their health, their children or their marriages, are we to say, “I’m sorry, Jesus can save people from their sins but He can’t help you with your broken heart?” Are we to say, “Jesus is good for the next life but He is not able to help us in the now life?” I don’t think so --- No, Jesus said that He came to help the broken hearted people of the world.

Luke 4:18 NLT

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,

Blacksmith Shop (you see them at times in Western movies). In that Blacksmith shop they had a sign that said, “We can mend anything but the break of day and a broken heart.” Praise God, I know someone who can mend & heal even a broken heart.  His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only One that can heal broken hearts…

Jesus is able to transform broken lives.

Lots of people have broken lives these days.  We begin our lives as innocent children, but as life goes on we are marred and scarred by our sins and by the sins of others.  Some people start out thinking they can break all or most of the 10 Commandments, only to discover they wind up breaking us.  Lots of people have broken lives because they’ve been overcome by the temptations and troubles of life.   

However, when those same people turn to Jesus Christ, they find in Him the help that they need to overcome the hurts, bad habits, and hang-ups of their lives.

John 8:36 NLT

36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Jesus is able to restore broken families.

I have seen Jesus restore broken families over the years.

When a man approached the Lord, he was obviously a man who was tormented by demonic spirits.  He acted like a wild man, lived in the cemeteries, and was separated from his family members and others who lived a decent life.  But Jesus was able to free the man from his demonic strongholds. And after He had done so, Jesus said to the man

Mark 5:19 NLT

19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”

Jesus sent that man back to his family, because He knew that the man’s family would be shocked by the transformation that had occurred in his life. And just like Jesus restored that family in the 1stcentury, He’s still restoring families in the 21st century.

Jesus Is The Only One Who Can Heal Broken Hearts / Transform Broken Lives / Restore Broken Families, and …

Jesus is able to change broken circumstances.

We have a lot of people with many challenges in their lives… physical challenges… emotional challenges… financial challenges…and many more. And I have seen Jesus meet people’s needs over and over again helping them to overcome the challenges.

You might say, “But my situation is impossible.” And it might be to you and I… But let me remind you of what the Angel said to Mary in that momentous occasion in Luke 1:37

Luke 1:37 NLT

37 For the word of God will never fail.”

Whatever our SITUATION is today, Jesus is the SOLUTION to meeting the great needs of our lives.

I read of a story of a child who made his parents a ceramic bowl for Christmas.  On Christmas morning he was excitedly running down the hallway with his gift when he tripped and fell.  And it was obvious from the sound, that the ceramic dish had been broken.  The child just sat there and started crying.  The Father said to him, “Don’t cry, it’s okay.”  But the boy kept crying.  The Mother employed a different tactic.  She got down on her knees, wrapped her arms around her son, and cried along with him.  Then, after a few minutes of crying together, she said to him as she wiped away his tears, “ “Now, let’s see if we can pick up the pieces & put them back together again.

That’s how Jesus responds to the mishaps, mistakes and troubles of our lives, and that is what Jesus is able to do with our lives.  He helps us pick up the pieces of our lives, put them back together, and make them better than we ever dreamed they could be.

So today on this Christmas Eve, we want to declare looking back what the Angel declared looking forward. We want to say that Jesus is great.  He is great because He is the Son of God. He is great because He is the Savior of the world. He is great because He is the Solution to all of our Problems.

The question is, “Have you made Him your Savior,” and have you “turned your problems over to Him?”

(Busy)  In the Nativity story, there was no room in the inn.  Make room for Jesus today…